Watch & Listen

Gregory Alan Isakov

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and calling Colorado home, Gregory Alan Isakov has been traveling all his life. Songs that hone a masterful quality beyond his years tell a story of miles and landscapes, and the search for a sense of place.

Music has been a stabilizing and constant force. "I've always had this sense about music and writing that I sort of have to do it. Like I'll implode without it. I probably wouldn't do it if I felt any other way."

His song-craft lends to the deepest lyrical masterpieces, with hints of his influences, Leonard Cohen and Bruce Springsteen. He has been described as "strong, subtle, a lyrical genius," but the source of his writing often remains a mystery to him. "My songs have nothing to do with me; they have a life of their own. A lot of times I won't know what a song is about when I'm writing it. It just has a certain feeling about it."

Isakov has played numerous music festivals and venues across the U.S., Canada, and Europe. When he is not on the road or writing, he is usually in his garden. A degree in horticulture might seem contradictory to a life spent in motion, but Isakov finds balance in the quiet concentration of the work, creating roots that keep him connected to home.

His new album, The Weatherman, was recorded mostly in solitude outside the quiet mountain town of Nederland, Colorado over the course of a year and a half. "I wanted to make something that felt genuine. We recorded everything with analogue gear and mixed it on tape, which gives the songs a raw and vulnerable feeling."

The title Isakov chose for the record reflects the nature of his external surroundings as much as his inner experiences. References to the weather are a reoccurring theme in Isakov's writing, but there is a deeper meaning behind the name.

"To me, the idea of a weatherman is really powerful. There's a guy on television or on the radio telling us the future, and nobody cares. It's this daily mundane miracle, and I think the songs I chose are about noticing the beauty in normal, everyday life."

Rachel Ries

​Rachel Ries crafts sly and compassionate songs for the crooked hearted. With an electric guitar, clear voice and steady hand, she pulls the listener into her world of city grit, country dirt, and her open-eyed search for redemption and reason. Her songs are fine-tuned delicacy with a snarl and disarming candor and, while South Dakota will always be home, Rachel is now splitting her time between rural Vermont and Brooklyn. Proudly carrying the torch of her love for the domestic arts, Rachel’s homemade preserves and hand stitched notebooks can often be found at shows, nestled amid the 180 gram vinyl, cds and t-shirts.
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Rachel is currently promoting Ghost of a Gardener, her first record in five years which Uncut calls a "Gorgeous gush of warm-blooded harmonies" and Maverick UK states is a "technicolor treasure in word and melody."

Since 2008's Country EP, a split 45" with Anaïs Mitchell released on Righteous Babe Records, Ries ("reese") has recorded and toured extensively with Mitchell, supporting Bon Iver and others. In addition to Mitchell, Rachel has recorded and collaborated with Jeremy Messersmith and Gregory Alan Isakov, who appears on Ghost. She​'s been granted a Chicago Arts award, worked in Chicago theatre, ​​​gone on four European tours, learned how to repair Wurlitzers and (kind of) play the drums.